Pardonnez Mon Impolitesse
by TheLadyInGold
Summary: Ukraine gets fed up with France's rude behavior and calls him on it... nicely, of course.


Ukraine wanted to fall through a hole in the floor.

She had been chosen to give a speech about safer farming practices in developing countries. It was a topic she knew well, but still... the thought of having to get up and speak in front of all the other nations made her feel slightly ill. "Why me?" She muttered to herself.

"Miss?" England (who was hosting this time) said softly, touching her hand. She started slightly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Would you like a glass of water?" Ukraine thought, _At least he's looking me in the eye, and not in the..._

"Yes, please," she replied. He nodded and hurried away. She rather liked England. He, at least toward her and the other female nations, really did behave like a gentleman. The same couldn't be said for others, though...

Prussia, for one. If she happened to be forced to speak to him, his eyes kept wandering southward towards her ample bust... and there were times when he didn't even make an effort to keep them from doing so.

"I wonder if he even remembers what my face looks like," she remembered telling Canada after one particularly stressful meeting in which she had been paired with Prussia for some teamwork exercise or something silly like that.

Although, to be fair, he wasn't the only one. In fact, when she thought about it, the only ones who DIDN'T ogle her were China (because he was a lot older and more mature), England, Austria (because he too was a gentleman), her brother Russia (obvious reasons), Poland and Lithuania (old friends) Sweden and Finland (friends too)... and Canada, her sweetheart, who genuinely loved and respected her.

America tried hard to be polite, but he was still young... Korea, well, he was Korea... Spain, Denmark, Greece, Turkey... She could just keep naming them. Even Germany, though at least he had the decency to act ashamed of himself. Japan barely even looked at her anymore out of embarrassment because she had caught him staring at her chest so many times.

And then there was France... "Don't think about that one," she told herself.

"Hmm?" Canada said as he wrapped his arms around her. "You okay?"

"Yes," she answered, leaning back into him. "Just a little nervous."

"Well, don't be," he told her. "We can all learn from you on this subject. Remember, you know more than we do about it."

She laughed a little. "Thanks, sweetheart," she said as he kissed the top of her head.

"You're the best, and I know that you can do this." Canada blew her another kiss as he walked over to speak with America.

Ukraine sighed. She wished she could be bold like Hungary, or intelligent like Monaco... but, all she was... was the shy bumpkin with the huge chest.

The meeting soon began, and after a few topics were brought up, she was called to give her speech.

Tugging at the neckline of her blouse nervously, she glanced at her notes and took a sip of her water before beginning to speak. Her voice came out a little shakily at first, but as she continued her speech, it got stronger and she discovered that she wasn't as nervous as she thought she had been. Until she happened to look at the nation sitting directly in front of her... France.

He was staring at her bosom, not even pretending to pay attention. That flustered Ukraine a little and she lost her place in the speech. She paused, sipping her water and trying to regain her composure. _Don't cry_, she told herself as she felt her eyes beginning to tingle._ Don't cry, but... what?_

She thought of something from her past. Her brother Russia, who was sitting to the left of France now, and Catherine the Great... Vanya teaching her the new language he was learning from the empress... and she had an idea.

Clearing her throat, she looked at France and said, "Monsieur Bonnifoy?" France looked up at her face, shocked."S'il vous plait me regarder dans les yeux quand je m'adresse vous." Her French was very unpolished, but it seemed to get the message across, for his face flushed scarlet. She quickly added,"Si vous le voulez bien."

Whispers and chuckles erupted through the conference room. France coughed a little, then meekly replied, "Je suis desole, mademoiselle." Then he added in English, "Please continue. I am interested in what you have to say."

Ukraine felt as though a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. _I can't believe I did that, but it felt great,_ she thought and finished her speech with a smile on her face. At the end of her speech, all the other nations applauded enthusiastically.

Canada whispered, "Great job, honey," as she took her seat next to him. The rest of the meeting passed quickly and when it adjourned, Ukraine found herself being mobbed...

"Great speech, Katya," Hungary called.

"You're a good speaker," Finland told her. "You really should give more speeches."

"Good show," England told her quietly, with a small grin.

"Excellent, sestra," Russia said proudly, "very informative and interesting."

Belarus glared at all the other nations and told them loudly, "You'd better listen to my siastra! She knows what she's talking about!"

"Thank you all," she replied modestly, blushing a little from the attention. She turned around to find Canada, and found herself facing France.

Who was actually looking her in the eye.

"Mademoiselle," he said quietly, "pardonnez mon impolitesse. C'etait inexcusable."

"Euh... pensez rien," she replied politely. "And thank you for listening to my speech."

He nodded and hurried away. By this time Canada had made his way to her side. He chuckled, winked at her and took her hand. "Today was a good day, huh?" he asked her.

"A fantastic day," she replied.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

1. Ukraine asked France to look her in the eye when she was speaking to him.

2. I am sorry, miss.

3. Pardon my rudeness, it's inexcusable.

4. Think nothing of it.  
Sorry if the French is a little rough... it fits Ukraine to be incorrect, but if France's is horribly wrong my apologies and I will correct it. Also, the accent marks disappeared when I uploaded.

Canada, of course, knows everything that was said :P


End file.
